Need advice on new set of regs for my doubles

[mrsea718]

I've been diving doubles with my current regs ( Aqualung Titans) for about 2 years now. They have worked great with well over 100 dives. Ive taken them to 130fsw with no issues at all. The only complaint I really have with them is the hose routing.Hose routing was never an issue when I used them for single configuration. My hoses tend to spider out of my first stages and at one point two hoses cross in front of the isolation valve on my manifold. The routing issue has always botherd me, but I managed to deal with it. Not until I saw a video of myself shot with my buddies Go-Pro camera did I realize how bad the hoses actually were. I've decided that its time to get a set of regs strictly for diving doubles. I have been doing some research and have narrowed down to 3. The top three choices I have made are Apeks Tec 3's with xtx50's HOG with cold water kits, and Dive Rite ( The latter 2 can be seen on DGE website ) I know there are alot of DNYers who dive doubles. What regs do you use, and if you had to pick one of my 3 choices which woould it be. Of course if there is another out there that I should give another look at, please feel free to let me know which one. Thanks for any input you may have.

[jhupka]

I like my atomics though it is on the bailout bottle not on doubles

[Scott L]

I vote Tec-3's or Atomic's. The Atomic ST1's are beautifully machined SS...

[Jim Lapenta]

HOGs. No brainer for me. Even before becoming a dealer they are the route I went. High performance, self serviceable, and the price was less than half of all the others I looked at. Been diving them for three years now with no issues at all.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[HenrikBP]

I dive Apeks Tek-3 regs on my doubles. They're "dolled" up DS4 regs really. The difference being slightly better hose routing, but I still like to have Miflex hoses on the wing inflator and back-up reg to deal with the tightest bends. The upshot is very "clean" hose routing.

I briefly owned a set of Hog regs and dove them on doubles, and the hose routing is really nice with the port at the bottom of the turret.

I've also dived a set of ScubaPro MK10 regs, paired with G250 2nd stages, and that's a very nice set-up as well, with the long hose coming off the bottom port in the turret. Similar to the HOG regs, but without the balance chamber peeking out in front of the valve handles. Those too had very clean hose routing.

The Apeks DST regs with the 5th port upgrade is a nice option too - essentially identical to the HOG regs ... or vice versa :)

The new ScubaPro regs - MK25 I think - routes similar to the HOG and Apeks DST and old SP MK10, but is supposedly trickier to service, and - like the MK10 - requires a dealer willing to sell you parts on the side.

As for service and parts availability (if you do your own service), Apeks and SP are less easy to get parts for. That said, I've stocked a healthy stash of parts for both with no problems ... other than cost :) The old SP regs are very easy to service, and the Apeks aren't too bad either. I have no experience with HOG or new SP regs.

So, if I were to choose, I would probably go with diaphragm 1st stages. And second to that choose the reg that gave me the - to me - nicest hose routing.

Henrik

Pictures of various hose routing:

Atomic Deepstop DIR-Set M1 (http://www.deepstop.de/atomic-deepstop-dirset-p-780.html)

Sets für Doppelgeräte DIR (http://www.deepstop.de/apeks-regulatorsets-sets-twintanks-c-79_217_73_169.html)

[Scott L]

I dive Apeks Tek-3 regs on my doubles. They're "dolled" up DS4 regs really. The difference being slightly better hose routing, but I still like to have Miflex hoses on the wing inflator and back-up reg to deal with the tightest bends. The upshot is very "clean" hose routing.

I am not sure if the cause was the particular isolation manifold valve I owned, but the hoses coming down from the Tek-3's I formally owned were bent quite a lot while bypassing the cylinders...

[HenrikBP]

I am not sure if the cause was the particular isolation manifold valve I owned, but the hoses coming down from the Tek-3's I formally owned were bent quite a lot while bypassing the cylinders...

I know H valves are a tad shorter than say the Thermos I have. Maybe by 1/2" or so. AFAIK some cylinders have a slightly shorter neck as well.

And yes, the inflator hose and the back-up reg hose *do* bend quite a bit, even with the angled outlet of the Tek-3s and (taller) Thermo valves. It's been done for years with no apparent problems, so I'm thinking it's not really an issue. But I still use Miflex hoses there for exactly that reason.

As an aside: I don't really care for Miflex hoses anywhere else - well, my drysuit inflator hose is Miflex as well, but that's it.

Henrik

[mrsea718]

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate all the advice

[MrPfeffer]

I use HOGs also very nice on my doubles and for the price cant be beat.

[parzdiver]

I'll throw my 2 psi into the mix, but I'm repeating what most people have already said. The Apeks TEK3 or DS4's will give you a fairly neat routing, but can put a lot of bend in some of the hoses. Going with something that has a bottom port makes hose routing very clean without the stress. I currently use the ScubaPro MK25's with S600's. I am slowly working to replace those with Apeks DST's with the fifth port. I have one reg at this point waiting to find another one on line for not too much money. I may also sell the ScubaPros and buy the second reg. As mentioned, the MK25's are great regs, but are complicated to service (I sat through it), and I like the compact DST diaphram regs.

[SeaCobra]

I really like the high quality and ruggedness of my Atomics, which I have had for about 10 years now. They have taken a beating as I used to crew on a couple of boats off joisey, repeated trips to Dutch, cold Great Lakes and warm southern waters. I expect another 10 years out of them. Prior I was diving SP's and had similar success. That is the big difference between the big guys and some of the others is the same as between a Hyundai and a Mercedes, sure the Hyundai will get you to work every day, but it ain't a Mercedes.

I like the hose routing the Atomics give me, the first stage parts kit is the same for every model and likewise for the second stage. I also like the AFC on the venturi.

And BTW - I am not an Atomics dealer, but I do hope to change that shortly. I'd rather drop thousands on a booking order than switch my personal regs :).

[ScubaSam]

<snip> The top three choices I have made are Apeks Tec 3's with xtx50's HOG with cold water kits, and Dive Rite <snip> What regs do you use, and if you had to pick one of my 3 choices which woould it be. Of course if there is another out there that I should give another look at, please feel free to let me know which one. Thanks for any input you may have.
Mario - Lots of great responses already so I'll just say I use the Apeks Tek3 for my doubles and like the hose routing. I've dove them in low 40s water temps in Tobermory without any issues. I don't have any other experience with the other two regs you listed or their routing. You're in the city so PM me if you want to borrow or try out my Apeks.

[hobodiver]

I dive with ScubaPro Mk 17/G250V's on my doubles. The routing is fairly nice, but not as nice as the Mk 25's with the swivel. But they are better cold water regs than the Mk 25's. Don't have any experience with the others you mentioned, but when I was choosing mine, I was debating between these and some Apeks (don't recall the model I was looking at). I ended up picking the ScubaPro's due to the lifetime free parts program (when serviced annually by certified scubapro shop and bought from an authorized dealer). That program is no longer available, unless you buy a complete BC/computer/regulator setup or something like that, so I'm not sure I would choose them again, since I seem to recall the Apeks had better hose routing on the ones I was looking at. My regs are grandfathered in, but will fall out of the program (and can't go back on) if I miss my annual service date by more than 30 days +/-.

[mrsea718]

Once again, thanks for all the input. I've decided to go with the Apeks Tec 3's. I dove a set this weekend at Dutch, and really liked the way they breathe. The hose routing was neat as well. It was a tough choice, and another big investment, so I hope I made the right choice.

[HenrikBP]

Can't imagine you won't be very happy with those regs :)

H

---------- Post added April 24th, 2012 at 08:22 PM ----------

Did you see this:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/classifieds-regulators/416431-apeks-tec-3-xtx50-set-up.html